Saw a photo of Laika years ago, such a beautiful looking dog. Wonder what it felt like for the people who, having had contact with her obviously, put her in that capsule knowing what type of death she would have.
One of the scientists took her home to play with his children not long before the launch, because he knew she was going to die.
Decades later another of the scientists responsible for training Laika said, "The more time passes, the more I'm sorry about it. We did not learn enough from the mission to justify the death of the dog."
